Hi all - Earl and the feral kelpie went to the boarding kennels on the weekend as we were away at Pedal Prix - and they were very well behaved. I had spoken to the owners about our consualtations with Mark SInger and that we made Earl sit and drop before his food - so she assured us she would keep doing that. It was weird being without them - and we (and they) were very happy when they got home - smelling pretty too.
We fed Earl that night and he tried to sniff up at the food as I came through but a quick "Aaah" from OH and and he went "OK - well - it STILL doesn't work" and lay down again.
Would like to try Obedience with him but need to have him (and the feral) used to being crated near the obedience classes without freaking out so I can take both of them and train them one at a time - might need a wire crate for that although I do have a spare K9 Pro crate at a friend's house.
Look at me - how can you resist this cuteness?
Earl and Rosie doing what they do best
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Hey all - long time no blog :)
well - been too busy living life to write about it recently but felt that i had to update tonight - I was feeding Earl when OH and 12 year old son came home -Earl was lying int he lounge and got up to greet OH - who walked past the kitchen gate (Previous place of conflict at feeding time). OH patted Earl and walked straight through into the lounge room - Earl went and lay on the rug - head down - not looking at either of us - and waited until I had walked through - put his meal down and then invited him to eat.
We were both very impressed with his behaviour - he wasn't aggresive to OH at all, no jumping up at him, not a growl or anything. So we are hopeful that all of the work we have been putting in has sunk in. He is definitely calmer and more compliant - maybe that is because we are more confident :)
He had a scuffle with a friends dog at the dog park - there was a tennis ball involved *sigh* and after I pulled him out of the scuffel and had him by the collar he was not impressed and not keen at all to submit to me - sounded like I was killing hom / he was killing me / there was a mutual murder happening *LOL*. He was a bit 'suspicious' of the other dogs he met that day - there were a few new ones and I think - looking back on it - I will stick with the ones I know he gets along with.
I have booked him into Marks' Group Socialisation classes and will take him along there but overall I think we are going well.
My Mum is here for a week - she is not very big and so i am giving her a spray bottle to deter Earl if he is too pushy - I wouldn't ask her to push him away - he weighs almost as much as she does - and I asked Mark about the spray bottle. He agreed that was a good option for Mum :)
We were both very impressed with his behaviour - he wasn't aggresive to OH at all, no jumping up at him, not a growl or anything. So we are hopeful that all of the work we have been putting in has sunk in. He is definitely calmer and more compliant - maybe that is because we are more confident :)
He had a scuffle with a friends dog at the dog park - there was a tennis ball involved *sigh* and after I pulled him out of the scuffel and had him by the collar he was not impressed and not keen at all to submit to me - sounded like I was killing hom / he was killing me / there was a mutual murder happening *LOL*. He was a bit 'suspicious' of the other dogs he met that day - there were a few new ones and I think - looking back on it - I will stick with the ones I know he gets along with.
I have booked him into Marks' Group Socialisation classes and will take him along there but overall I think we are going well.
My Mum is here for a week - she is not very big and so i am giving her a spray bottle to deter Earl if he is too pushy - I wouldn't ask her to push him away - he weighs almost as much as she does - and I asked Mark about the spray bottle. He agreed that was a good option for Mum :)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The fence is UP!!!!!
First of all I say RIP to the little one tragically killed in Melbourne - my heart goes out to her family.
This is something that makes me realise why I called a behaviourist for Earl in the first place - as a 53 kilo dog he is a BIG dog - and behaviour which in a 20 kilo dog you feel more able to deal with - when you times the size by 2.5 the potential impact of the behaviour also times by 2.5.
I had a really interesting discussion with some of my class today (9 and 10 year olds) - there perspective on the issue was varied and the background they bring to it is also varied. They all have heard about Earl and some of them have met him - they have a perspective on the size aspect and many of them have dogs as their family pets.
My kids are 12 and 10 and I have always been vigilant with my supervision of the dogs around them and when the kids have friends around we keep the kids and dogs seperate - part of this is the sheer size of Earl and part of this is the fact that not all kids are dog savvy and not alll dogs are kid savvy - kids can be unpredictable and so can dogs - no matter how laid back they seem to be - you just cannot know how they will react in all situations.
Anyway - on the Earl side of things - my wonderful OH has now fenced the area of garden containing the riverstones so I will now not be thinking the worst every time Earl eats leaves and throws up - or belches - or moves funny - or looks at me funny - or even breathes funny *L* (Given that he's a Bloodhound he pretty much looks funny all of them time)
That is until the big doofus finds something else he can get into or do to keep us on our toes - hopefully that will take him long enough that by the time he thinks of it he will be past the stupid teenage dog years and be too old and settled to act on his thoughts :)
So - hug your kids and dogs - and cross your fingers that we have beaten the doofus for now!!
This is something that makes me realise why I called a behaviourist for Earl in the first place - as a 53 kilo dog he is a BIG dog - and behaviour which in a 20 kilo dog you feel more able to deal with - when you times the size by 2.5 the potential impact of the behaviour also times by 2.5.
I had a really interesting discussion with some of my class today (9 and 10 year olds) - there perspective on the issue was varied and the background they bring to it is also varied. They all have heard about Earl and some of them have met him - they have a perspective on the size aspect and many of them have dogs as their family pets.
My kids are 12 and 10 and I have always been vigilant with my supervision of the dogs around them and when the kids have friends around we keep the kids and dogs seperate - part of this is the sheer size of Earl and part of this is the fact that not all kids are dog savvy and not alll dogs are kid savvy - kids can be unpredictable and so can dogs - no matter how laid back they seem to be - you just cannot know how they will react in all situations.
Anyway - on the Earl side of things - my wonderful OH has now fenced the area of garden containing the riverstones so I will now not be thinking the worst every time Earl eats leaves and throws up - or belches - or moves funny - or looks at me funny - or even breathes funny *L* (Given that he's a Bloodhound he pretty much looks funny all of them time)
That is until the big doofus finds something else he can get into or do to keep us on our toes - hopefully that will take him long enough that by the time he thinks of it he will be past the stupid teenage dog years and be too old and settled to act on his thoughts :)
So - hug your kids and dogs - and cross your fingers that we have beaten the doofus for now!!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Stitches are out - fencing has begun :)
Hey all - as the title says the stupid big boofer got his stitches out today - wasn't too impressed when the vet nurse took him out the back and the vet saw him without me being there - although last time he had stitches taken out there the vet told me he was fat - which I did not appreciate at all!
So maybe a good thing I wasn't out there.
The scar is healed nicely and given that they didn't have to cut into the intestine he has been eating well and hasn't tried to chew or lick at the stitches at all - so putting the cone on him would have been just a major pain in the butt and he would have been unable to settle - good choice me!!!
OH has the supplies for fencing around the edge of the garden where the riverstones are so neither of the dogs will be able to get into that area at all - which will mean that we can relax a bit more and not worry every time they are left alone.
Footy season only has about 6 weeks left too so after that the kelpie can go back to dog obedience and we have some time freed up to walk them more - which will be good for all of us.
They are booked into boarding kennels for a weekend while we are away - they have stayed there before and we were really happy with them so that isn't a problem - the people who own the kennel breed Akitas so are used to big dogs - and Earl just does his smoochy act over them and everyone loves him *sigh*
So maybe a good thing I wasn't out there.
The scar is healed nicely and given that they didn't have to cut into the intestine he has been eating well and hasn't tried to chew or lick at the stitches at all - so putting the cone on him would have been just a major pain in the butt and he would have been unable to settle - good choice me!!!
OH has the supplies for fencing around the edge of the garden where the riverstones are so neither of the dogs will be able to get into that area at all - which will mean that we can relax a bit more and not worry every time they are left alone.
Footy season only has about 6 weeks left too so after that the kelpie can go back to dog obedience and we have some time freed up to walk them more - which will be good for all of us.
They are booked into boarding kennels for a weekend while we are away - they have stayed there before and we were really happy with them so that isn't a problem - the people who own the kennel breed Akitas so are used to big dogs - and Earl just does his smoochy act over them and everyone loves him *sigh*
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Earl - repeat after me - Riverstones are NOT food!!!!!
As you can probably guess from the title of this post Earl has eaten ANOTHER riverstone.
This has been quite an eventful week - after Mark's visit on Wednesday Earl was still not himself with his behaviour - a bit flat - a bit whingy - and walking very carefully. We could also see a lump on his back so - off to the vets again- after a bit of poking and prodding - which Earl took pretty well - the diagnosis of sore and swollen muscles was made (I told you there was no way you were going to catch the kelpie onSaturday - no matter how hard you tried!) and we were sent home with anti-inflammatories and instructions to rest over the weekend. (like he needs to be told to rest - it's all he does!)
So - Friday night - Earl has been chewing the trees and has vomited once - not sure if it's a side affect of the anti-iflammatories so we feed him and he goes outside till 8 pm - I let him in and he seems OK - a bit difficult to settle but that might be his back being sore OR....................................it might be the dreaded return of the riverstone. I put the kids (and dogs) to bed at 10 - but he is whingy and won't settle so I set myself up on the couch and hope he will find a comfortable position (this has worked before) but it wasn't to be. I end up in the chair so Earl can have the couch (more room for him to hopefully settle) but when he goes into our room and tries to get on the bed I KNOW something is wrong - by this time it is 2.30 am so I ring the emergency vet - wake 2 very sleepy children (OH is on night shift), bundle a drooly bloodhound and the kids into the car and set off for the vet. (OH messages me and says he is on his way home from work)
Earl - social butterfly that he is - smooches both the vet and the vet nurse (except when the vet takes his temperature - then he almost sits on the thermometer - OUCH) and we manage to get him to lie down on the floor of the x-ray room to take a picture of his insides and - there it is - stuck in the small intestine - a riverstone.
We decide to leave him there - on fluids - for an operation tomorrow to remove the riverstone and we all (OH has arrived at the vets while all this is going on) go home to crawl exhaustedly back into bed.
We then spend the morning filling sandbags and preparing to cover the rest of the garden bed with them - in the hope that when he comes home Earl won't be able to dig up any more of his favourite treat :)
The vet rings us to say that in the time he was there overnight Earl has managed to chew his drip out but he seems very happy this morning (Of course he is happy - he is surrounded by people and his tummy is feeling better) We pay a large sum of money as deposit for the surgery - answer the inevitable questions about how we are going to keep him away form the riverstones (Sandbags and hopefully fencing off the area eventually)
The day goes on and late afternoon we get the post surgery phome call - good news (although Earl may not think so ) The riverstone has moved down into the large intestine and the vet has been able to push it our Earls butt :0 (Double OUCH).
Why is it good that Earl had a riverstone pushed out of his butt? Well - it means that his intestine is still intact and that the incision was only made through the skin and muscle - less recovery time and hopefully a more comfortable dog (After he has recovered from the indignity of the surgery and the pain in his butt)
So - the saga of Earl continues ...............................happy reading
On a slight aside - the kelpie is having a pretty good time of it although I think we all feel that there is something missing at the moment and will be pleased to have him home again
This has been quite an eventful week - after Mark's visit on Wednesday Earl was still not himself with his behaviour - a bit flat - a bit whingy - and walking very carefully. We could also see a lump on his back so - off to the vets again- after a bit of poking and prodding - which Earl took pretty well - the diagnosis of sore and swollen muscles was made (I told you there was no way you were going to catch the kelpie onSaturday - no matter how hard you tried!) and we were sent home with anti-inflammatories and instructions to rest over the weekend. (like he needs to be told to rest - it's all he does!)
So - Friday night - Earl has been chewing the trees and has vomited once - not sure if it's a side affect of the anti-iflammatories so we feed him and he goes outside till 8 pm - I let him in and he seems OK - a bit difficult to settle but that might be his back being sore OR....................................it might be the dreaded return of the riverstone. I put the kids (and dogs) to bed at 10 - but he is whingy and won't settle so I set myself up on the couch and hope he will find a comfortable position (this has worked before) but it wasn't to be. I end up in the chair so Earl can have the couch (more room for him to hopefully settle) but when he goes into our room and tries to get on the bed I KNOW something is wrong - by this time it is 2.30 am so I ring the emergency vet - wake 2 very sleepy children (OH is on night shift), bundle a drooly bloodhound and the kids into the car and set off for the vet. (OH messages me and says he is on his way home from work)
Earl - social butterfly that he is - smooches both the vet and the vet nurse (except when the vet takes his temperature - then he almost sits on the thermometer - OUCH) and we manage to get him to lie down on the floor of the x-ray room to take a picture of his insides and - there it is - stuck in the small intestine - a riverstone.
We decide to leave him there - on fluids - for an operation tomorrow to remove the riverstone and we all (OH has arrived at the vets while all this is going on) go home to crawl exhaustedly back into bed.
We then spend the morning filling sandbags and preparing to cover the rest of the garden bed with them - in the hope that when he comes home Earl won't be able to dig up any more of his favourite treat :)
The vet rings us to say that in the time he was there overnight Earl has managed to chew his drip out but he seems very happy this morning (Of course he is happy - he is surrounded by people and his tummy is feeling better) We pay a large sum of money as deposit for the surgery - answer the inevitable questions about how we are going to keep him away form the riverstones (Sandbags and hopefully fencing off the area eventually)
The day goes on and late afternoon we get the post surgery phome call - good news (although Earl may not think so ) The riverstone has moved down into the large intestine and the vet has been able to push it our Earls butt :0 (Double OUCH).
Why is it good that Earl had a riverstone pushed out of his butt? Well - it means that his intestine is still intact and that the incision was only made through the skin and muscle - less recovery time and hopefully a more comfortable dog (After he has recovered from the indignity of the surgery and the pain in his butt)
So - the saga of Earl continues ...............................happy reading
On a slight aside - the kelpie is having a pretty good time of it although I think we all feel that there is something missing at the moment and will be pleased to have him home again
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Follow up visit with Mark tonight
Well - we had our follow up visit with Mark tonight - I thought things were going OK but wanted to check with the expert to get either reassurance or tips to help out with what we were doing.
Mark came round about 4.30 - I wanted him to see Earl at feeding time. We chatted first about how things had been going and how we had handled a couple of incidents and then ..................................the big moment - I let Earl in.
I made him wait at the door and then let him inside to where Mark was sitting on the couch - I swear the words "Oh Sh!t - him again" went through his head when he saw Mark.
I have never seen a dog slink before - Earl almost dropped his belly to the ground - Mark called him over - in quite a friendly tone - and Earl slid over to him - as soon as he got within patting distance he folded himslef up and rolled over onto his back - tail firmly tucked between his legs - he was as submissive as he could get without actually grovelling :) - actually no - to be honest - he grovelled :)
After a short belly rub from Mark he then slunk over to me and rolled over onto his belly with a "Save me" look on his face. I patted him and he relaxed slightly as Mark and I had a laugh at Earl's behaviour - there is no way this dog is a dominant dog - he could not be any more submissive :)
Earl lay at my feet and within a few short minutes there were gentle snores coming from his vicinity - I mean - how relaxed was this dog????
I had to wake him to go through the feeding routine and when he approached the laundry as I was putting the dry food in the bowls and I told him 'away' he curled up next to the window with a studiously disinterested look on his face - all his body language saying "I'm good - see - I'm lying here quietly - not interested in the food at all' :)
I mixed up his food and put it down in the laundry with not the slightest attempt to approach it from Earl - which Mark agreed was a good thing. Earl lay there until I invited him to eat and then came in to eat.
When he'd finished he went cautiously over to Mark again and this time his belly was a good 10 cm off the ground and he even attempted a sniff - so he was relaxing in Marks' presence which was good.
I put him outside and Mark came to the conclusion that all was going OK and we could reserve our follow up visits until we needed them for anything - which hopefully won't be in the near future.
So - good progress but we need to keep it up and keep standing firm if Earl tries to bluff us with a growl - confidence, confidence, confidence :)
Off to the beach on Saturday - hopefully the big drooly dog doesn't freeze his poor little paws in the icy water :)
Mark came round about 4.30 - I wanted him to see Earl at feeding time. We chatted first about how things had been going and how we had handled a couple of incidents and then ..................................the big moment - I let Earl in.
I made him wait at the door and then let him inside to where Mark was sitting on the couch - I swear the words "Oh Sh!t - him again" went through his head when he saw Mark.
I have never seen a dog slink before - Earl almost dropped his belly to the ground - Mark called him over - in quite a friendly tone - and Earl slid over to him - as soon as he got within patting distance he folded himslef up and rolled over onto his back - tail firmly tucked between his legs - he was as submissive as he could get without actually grovelling :) - actually no - to be honest - he grovelled :)
After a short belly rub from Mark he then slunk over to me and rolled over onto his belly with a "Save me" look on his face. I patted him and he relaxed slightly as Mark and I had a laugh at Earl's behaviour - there is no way this dog is a dominant dog - he could not be any more submissive :)
Earl lay at my feet and within a few short minutes there were gentle snores coming from his vicinity - I mean - how relaxed was this dog????
I had to wake him to go through the feeding routine and when he approached the laundry as I was putting the dry food in the bowls and I told him 'away' he curled up next to the window with a studiously disinterested look on his face - all his body language saying "I'm good - see - I'm lying here quietly - not interested in the food at all' :)
I mixed up his food and put it down in the laundry with not the slightest attempt to approach it from Earl - which Mark agreed was a good thing. Earl lay there until I invited him to eat and then came in to eat.
When he'd finished he went cautiously over to Mark again and this time his belly was a good 10 cm off the ground and he even attempted a sniff - so he was relaxing in Marks' presence which was good.
I put him outside and Mark came to the conclusion that all was going OK and we could reserve our follow up visits until we needed them for anything - which hopefully won't be in the near future.
So - good progress but we need to keep it up and keep standing firm if Earl tries to bluff us with a growl - confidence, confidence, confidence :)
Off to the beach on Saturday - hopefully the big drooly dog doesn't freeze his poor little paws in the icy water :)
Monday, August 1, 2011
OK - I can't believe it but he's a bit quieter than normal (and he's normally just about comatose)
Hey - back again - been pretty busy but realised that I need to put in a bit of effort to keep the blog up to date. Earl gave us a bit of a scare last night - he was lying asleep when he stood up - yelping a bit and looking a bit unconfortable in himself - he went outside and we quickly followed him - our first thought was - OH NO - another riverstone.
Well he wandered a bit and then lay down - legs in the air - for his tummy to be scratched - I gave it a good kind of check out and he didn't mind at all when I pushed and prodded - no tenderness or flinching - but we kept an eye on him anyway - meanwhile my brain is going overtime thinking the worst.
He settled in his crate at bedtime but I let him out at 1.30 (Followed him outside - watching him closely - when he has had a riverstone before he has drooled - more than usual - not been able to settle - and has thrown up after dry retching - Probably too much information I know but - you get the picture) he pooed (Nothing in it - I checked) and then when he went back in was a bit restless and yelped again.
OH ended up in the lounge room with Earl as he was off work today and I made an appointment at the vets for him today - worrying all morning about what they would say.
OH texted me at lunchtime after the vet visit - nothing seemed to be a problem - vital signs OK - nothing obvious in his stomach (2 vets checked it out) and Earl seemed OK.
He ate well and has just seemed a little quiet - I mean he isn't the most lively dog at the best of times but this is even 1 step down from that :( - he whimpered a bit when we came in from footy training and was a bit sooky - lying down for a tummy rub - and he is still in front of my chair where he oozed down - so we shall monitor him and see how he goes - maybe he has pulled a muscle - maybe he has eaten something (Not a riverstone) that is making him feel a bit off - maybe he is just a bit under the weather? I don't know - but I can't help worrying - if he is not better by Wednesday then I will cancel my appt with Mark and take Earl back to the vet - will keep you informed :)
Keep him in your thoughts guys :)
Well he wandered a bit and then lay down - legs in the air - for his tummy to be scratched - I gave it a good kind of check out and he didn't mind at all when I pushed and prodded - no tenderness or flinching - but we kept an eye on him anyway - meanwhile my brain is going overtime thinking the worst.
He settled in his crate at bedtime but I let him out at 1.30 (Followed him outside - watching him closely - when he has had a riverstone before he has drooled - more than usual - not been able to settle - and has thrown up after dry retching - Probably too much information I know but - you get the picture) he pooed (Nothing in it - I checked) and then when he went back in was a bit restless and yelped again.
OH ended up in the lounge room with Earl as he was off work today and I made an appointment at the vets for him today - worrying all morning about what they would say.
OH texted me at lunchtime after the vet visit - nothing seemed to be a problem - vital signs OK - nothing obvious in his stomach (2 vets checked it out) and Earl seemed OK.
He ate well and has just seemed a little quiet - I mean he isn't the most lively dog at the best of times but this is even 1 step down from that :( - he whimpered a bit when we came in from footy training and was a bit sooky - lying down for a tummy rub - and he is still in front of my chair where he oozed down - so we shall monitor him and see how he goes - maybe he has pulled a muscle - maybe he has eaten something (Not a riverstone) that is making him feel a bit off - maybe he is just a bit under the weather? I don't know - but I can't help worrying - if he is not better by Wednesday then I will cancel my appt with Mark and take Earl back to the vet - will keep you informed :)
Keep him in your thoughts guys :)
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